Gene therapy gives deaf children hope for hearing and healing
A stunning scientific discovery is taking place in the heart of Dongguan, China, bringing new hope to deaf kids and their families. Yiyi, a six-year-old child who was born completely deaf, is at the heart of this transformative story. Yiyi's world was silent only a few months ago, and she had to Read More...
Can you hear me now? Experts are working out how to regenerate lost hearing
Researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) have developed what they believe to be a game-changing cure for hearing loss: a new combination of drug-like molecules that can rebuild the hair cells in the inner ear that permit hearing. Reprogramming genetic pathways in the inner ear allowed the Read More...
Gene therapy could help millions of glaucoma patients
Novel gene therapy has been developed as a treatment option for glaucoma sufferers thanks to a collaboration between Exhaura Limited and Trinity College Dublin. About 80 million individuals throughout the world suffer from glaucoma, an eye illness that can cause permanent blindness if left Read More...
Gene therapy could effectively treat chronic pain from spinal injuries
Gene therapy is a growing field of medicine with enormous treatment potential for many currently incurable diseases. Scientists have so far created gene therapies to tackle a range of diseases, including the leading cause of blindness, sickle cell anemia, and a range of rare genetic Read More...
This gel heals the delicate skin of people with “butterfly disease”
What is butterfly disease? The rare disease known as epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a genetic condition that causes the skin to be extremely fragile. Even the slightest touch can tear it, leaving people with wounds that never heal and even resulting in skin cancer. This gives EB its name Read More...
Gene-therapy could treat leading cause of blindness
Throughout the past decade, it seems like science is getting closer to the reality of gene therapy. Here at The Optimist Daily, we’ve reported on a number of potential uses for the practice, including; curing blindness, reducing obesity, ending malaria, allowing cross species organ transplants, Read More...
How gene therapy brought back this Canadian boy’s vision
An eight-year-old by the name of Sam recently became the first Canadian to be successfully treated with gene replacement therapy to cure a rare form of blindness. Sam’s condition, which is a genetic disorder known as retinitis pigmentosa, made it impossible for Sam to see the sky on a cloudy Read More...